


If You Were Alone

by marvelmedigeekfics



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23554729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelmedigeekfics/pseuds/marvelmedigeekfics
Summary: What if Buck was alone? Sometimes it feels like he is. But he's not. He's not alone. He has a family.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Kudos: 46





	If You Were Alone

Evan Buckley was having a great day. He finally felt like himself again. He passed his recertification test, and is completely cleared for full duty. He called Bobby, the captain, first to tell him the good news, and then his sister Maddie. It’s finally a good day, after months of terrible ones. The surgeries, the recovery and physical therapy. The damn thing sucks! But nonetheless, he was grateful for it. He could walk again. Climb the stairs and sleep in his actual bed. And most importantly, go back to work. Buck whooped to his empty apartment.

This day deserved a celebration. That is, it did, until Buck’s coughing fit expelled red spittle.

—

Maddie was proud of her little brother. He’d worked so hard to get back to being a firefighter. She worried about him, though. It had only been 5 months since his leg was crushed by a ladder truck, and Buck had a history of pushing too hard, too fast. Her next calls distracted her from worrying about Buck. But once there was a break in emergencies, she typed out a quick text: Hope you feel like celebrating!

“Hey Maddie! Have you heard from Buck? How his recertification go?” Josh, Maddie’s close friend, said.

“He passed!” Maddie replied back.

“That’s amazing! I’m glad.”

Maddie kept checking her phone compulsively. Buck always replies fast.

“Who are you expecting a call from?” Josh quipped, spinning around in the dispatcher chair.

The phone rang. “The people of Los Angeles, of course! 9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

—

Instead of calling 9-1-1 like he knows he should, Buck calls his best friend.

“Buck?”

“Yeah, it’s me. What are you doing?” Buck can’t a word out without coughing.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just come over. Please.”

“I’ll be there in 5.”

Buck keeps coughing, his hands covered with blood. As is his shirt, his pants and his socks. This is how it ends. And Buck begins to cry. He’s going to die without ever getting back to what he is supposed to do.

And then he’s gone.

“Buck!” Eddie knocks on his door, incredibly worried about the way Buck called him. There’s no answer. The silence and the adrenaline leaves him with one option.

“Buck? Where are you?” And then Eddie sees him on the floor and nothing matters anymore. All that matters is that Buck is okay.

Usually, Eddie is a rock under pressure. But not when Buck is the one dying. Okay, okay. Call 9-1–1. Turn him to the side. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t. Panic. Buck is still breathing. Good. His heart still is beating. Good. Good. Eddie thinks he’s okay by the time the medics are here, but then his heart is racing and he’s trying so hard to be normal. It’s not working, and Buck is an inch from death. And then he looks down and he’s still holding Bucks hand. And he can’t let go. It's gonna be okay.

—

“Hey, Maddie. It’s Eddie. Um, Diaz.”

“Hi Eddie.” She pauses curiously.

“Um, Buck, he’s in the hospital. He had a pulmonary embolism. He’s okay. He’s gonna be okay. I’m sorry, Maddie.”

“Um, which...which hospital?”

“LA Pres. In Burbank.”

“I’ll be there.”

Eddie stays silent at the other end of the line, tears falling on the edge of the bed.

“And thanks, Eddie, for staying with him. He’s glad you’re there. And um, he loves you. Thank you.”

Maddie hangs up, and with his now free hand, Eddie covers Buck’s hand. There is a peace about a silent hospital room. It’s sobering. The only sound is the steady beep of the the monitors.

“Hey, Buck.” Eddie whispers into Buck’s knuckles. “This isn’t something I say very much. But sometimes it takes a bunch of near death experiences to do...whatever this is.” He laughs wryly and continues. “I love you.”

Buck, who for the first time is awake and silent, smiles. He watches his best friend, sitting by his bedside. He listens to the stillness and thanks God or whatever for giving him this. A best friend who will drop everything for him. Maybe his luck is finally changing.

“Eddie.” Buck’s voice is hoarse and Eddie doesn’t even stir. He’s not asleep, not really.

“Eddie.” Buck wiggles his fingers in Eddie’s grasp, to which he finally stirs.

“Hey, kid. Nice to have you back.” Eddie smiles lazily. His happiness radiates and Buck smiles back, the pain a distant memory when his best friend smiles at him.

“I love you too.”

“You heard that, huh?”

“You’re not the best at whispering.”

“Shut up.”

There’s a soft pause and nothing feels better than this. The peace. The comfort. The love.

“Hey, Buck.”

“Hey, Eddie. What’s up?”

“Are we going to talk?”

“About what? The I love yous? Or the other thing?”

“The other thing. Buck-”

“Don’t. Don’t yell at me. Maddie is already going to do it. I don’t want to hear it from you too.”

“I’m not. I’m not. Buck...I can’t. I can’t yell at you, even though I really, really want to. You’re so reckless, sometimes it’s exhausting. Worrying about you.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m okay. I’m okay, I promise.”

“You almost weren’t. You almost died. Died!”

“I’m sorry.” Buck’s voice is barely a whisper. “If I hadn’t called you. If I was alone..”

“You aren’t. You weren’t. You called me.”

“If I was alone, I would’ve died.” Buck doesn’t even react to Eddie’s words.

“You weren’t.” Eddie repeats.

“But I called you. And you came.”

“I will always come when you call. Whenever you need me, I’ll be there.”

“Thanks, Eddie. Thanks for putting up with my shit.”

“You’re welcome, Buckley.” Eddie turns slightly to see Maddie smiling at them.

“Hey, Maddie.” They say at the same time.

“Hello, boys.” She gives Buck a look. One Eddie knows well, from having sisters of his own.

“I’m going to call Chris. Do you need anything?” Eddie says.

Both Buckley siblings shake their heads no and Eddie moves to the hallway.

\--

“Hey Chris.”

“Hi Dad. How is Buck?”

“He’s okay, kid.”

“Are you going to be there tomorrow?”

“Yeah, buddy, I will.”

“Can I come? To see Buck?”

“Yeah. Yes.”

Chris cheers on the other end of the line and there’s nothing that can keep Eddie from grinning.

—

Meanwhile, Maddie is sitting with her brother. She didn’t yell. She didn’t chew him out.

“I really thought you were going to be mad, Mads.” Buck says after a minute of doting Maddie.

“I was. I was really, really mad. And then I thought about you. I lost a lot of time with you, when I was with Doug. And I don’t want to waste time being mad at you.” She replies.

“This side of you is almost scarier than the mad side.”

“It is not and you know it.” Maddie sticks her tongue out at him, almost like when they were kids.

“I love you!”

“You also love a certain member of the 118.” Maddie teases.

“So do you.” Buck says, to which Maddie shrugs.

“At least I admit it.”

“I did admit it!”

Maddie raises her eyebrows questioningly.

“You weren’t listening to that?”

“No! I don’t listen to people’s private conversations.”

It’s Buck’s turn to raise his eyebrows questioningly.

“Okay, fine, fine. I did. But, I also knew you loved him a long time ago. Like the moment he joined the 118.”

“No, like 3 days after that.” Buck contests.

“That does not help your case in any way.”

“Details, details.” Maddie laughs to herself.

“For the record, I knew.” Eddie says from the door.

“Knew what?” Buck replies.

“That you loved me then. But, sometimes you have to wait for people to admit things to themselves.”

“Is this like the kettle calling the tar black?”

“No, Buck, the saying is the pot calling the kettle black.”

“Close enough. I’m still right.”

Maddie dissolves into laughter and Eddie just snickers.

“You’re so lucky we love you.”


End file.
